We humans have an abyss inside us. The more power people have, the greater the danger.
We were united not only by political respect for each other, but also by deep mutual sympathy as people.
Peace must be more than the absence of war.
It was a stroke of luck that there were about four to six leaders in power in the mid-'80s who really trusted one another and could really make things happen.
We all need Europe, not just those of us in Europe. And we Germans need Europe more than the others. Germany is the country with the longest border, the most neighbours, and is, by population and economic strength, the number one in Europe.
Where there is no will, no rules or laws can help.
We Germans have learned from history. We are a peace-loving, freedom-loving people. There is only one place for us in the world: at the side of the free nations.
I don't want to give myself grades. I will leave evaluation of my achievements to history.
I have made a very good living, for more than 30 years, by being underestimated.
In a democracy, if you don't get the votes, nothing else is possible, no matter how wonderful your dreams.
I knew that I could never win a referendum in Germany. We would have lost a referendum on the introduction of the euro. That's quite clear. I would have lost, and by seven to three.
I experienced Nazism as a child. Like many of my generation, I was motivated by the desire to prevent another war at any price.
My childhood ended in 1942. I was 12, and for the next three years, I lived under incessant bombings. It was a life of constant fear.
Two decisions have damaged the stability both of the euro and of Europe: the premature admission of Greece to the euro area and the breach and subsequent weakening of the stability and growth pact.
George Bush was for me the most important ally on the road to German unity.
When people come to write about my period of office, I would be very happy if they say that I made a contribution to finding the happy medium again for the Germans.
Nations with a common currency never went to war against each other. A common currency is more than the money you pay with.
If one has no compass, when one doesn't know where one stands and where one wants to go, one can deduce that one has no leadership or interest in shaping events.
The most important rule of the new Europe is: There must never again be violence in Europe.
I like everything that makes you fat.
